Caeneus Tells His Story: Andrea Dugonicius, Argonauticorum book 8

Caeneus Tells His Story

Name:   Andrea Dugonicius Date:   18th century Region:   Szecseny [modern Hungary] Citation:   The Argonauts, or the Golden Fleece Book 8, p. 203 (1778)

Caeneus and Tiresias were seen as the archetypal trans heroes of Greek myth, and occasionally their stories were conflated. In this account of Caeneus, the author here is using elements from the myths of both Tiresias [who transforms from a woman back into a man after seven years] and the myth of Iphis [who was transformed into a man on his wedding day]. 

We had scarcely left sight of Delos and were contemplating what we’d learned. I wasn’t the only one who was worried about the prophecies we’d been given in the shrine. Everyone was either really happy or really terrified about it, but nobody was more worried than Caeneus, for Apollo predicted that he would again become a woman.

I told him, “Hey, Caeneus, buddy, what’s going on? Fill me in so I’m not still in the dark—you used to be a woman?”

He replied, “I was a woman, but now, thanks to the blessings of Neptune, you know me as a man.”

When he didn’t respond anything else, I asked him, friend-to-friend, to tell me more, and then Caeneus told me everything:

“My dad Elatus got a prophecy from the gods, I guess, that he’d be killed by his firstborn daughter, so he avoided getting married. Finally, a bunch of his friends convinced him to do so, so he married the daughter of Antippus. When she gave birth to me and saw she’d birthed a girl, she ignored my father’s prophecy and hid my gender and called me Caeneus. Later on, when I became old enough to get married, I listened to my mother Hippea’s advice and put off getting married. I kept rejecting all of the girls, and really liked hanging out with guys. My father kept hounding me about getting married, and even threatened me with terrible things if  I didn’t obey his will. Well, he finally got his way (even though I didn’t want to). I was betrothed to one of the Magnesian girls, and I kept praying and giving offerings to Neptune to save me.

My prayers were so desperate, that they even found their way underwater. For when I approached the altar on my wedding day, I felt that I had become a man—and that everything got better when I had the body of a man. My mind was now sharper, as well as my reasoning powers; my civic duty was more productive; my romantic love was more purified, and more mellow; my relationships with my friends were stronger, and finally, I gained a yearning for true and wholesome glory. If I change back to a girl, if I lose all of this, what will I do? What friends will I have? Where will I turn?”

This was what Caeneus was worried about.

  

Caeneus Tells His Story

Vix e conspectu Deli discessimus, illico variae cogitationes mortalium animos occuparunt. Non alia potior cogitandi materies, quam edita in Fano oracula. Suam quisque fortunam aut amabat in iis, aut metuebat.

Sed Caeneo magis nemo angebatur, quem iterum foeminam futurum Apollo praedixerat. “Quid vero est,” inquiebam, “mi Caeneu, hoc ne ego ignorare adhuc potui, olim te fuisse foeminam?”

“Fui,” reposuit ille, “foemina, at nunc Neptuni beneficio virum noveris.”

 Cum dein nihil reponeret, ego socium, uti rem aperiat, rogare; tum ille ita recensere historiam:

“Pater meus Elatus, nescio, quo Deorum responso certior redditus: fore, uti a filia, quam primam sustulisset, necaretur, diu a mulierum societate penitus abstinuit; tandem multis Amicorum suasionibus inductus Antippo genitam in coniugem adlegit, quae cum me in lucem ederet, et puellam videret, eorum, quae Patri responsa erant, non immemor, sexum occultavit, atque adpellavit Caeneum. Post, ubi ad eam aetatem perveni, qua uxor e civibus deligenda erat, ego Matris Hippeae monitu omne coniugium respuere, aversari omnes virgines; cum iuvenibus libenter conversari, contra urgere coniugium Pater, et, ni voluntati obsequerer, mala comminari omnia.

Vicit obstinatam. Despondi unam e Magnesiis invita, simulque Neptunum, uti nunc demum miserae succureret, voto precata, et suppliciis. Tam fervens oratio fuit, ut penetrare in maria potuerit. Cum enim ad aras accederem, virum me esse sensi, quo cum sexu omnia mihi pariter bona contigerunt: mens praestantior, et ratio; sollers cura Reipublicae; fervor in amando purior, et decoctus magis; adhoc arctum cum amicis vinculum; postremo gloriae adpetitus verae, atque solidae. His ego omnibus, si sexum mutavero, orbus, quid agam? quo me vertam socii?” Haec de sua sorte Caeneus.

Andrea Dugonicius [18th century, modern Hungary] was born in Szecseny, Hungary, and spent his life contributing to the world as a scholar and a clergyman. One of his most famous works was a 24 volume novel in Latin called The Argonautica.

In Praise of Tiresias: Faustus Sabaeus

Name: Faustus Sabaeus Date: 16th century CE   Region:  Brixia [Brescia, modern Italy] Citation:   Illustrated Myths of Ovid

Fate prophesied that you would transform from a man to a woman;

Then you’d return to being a man, but one without sight.

Tiresias, you were also a judge for the gods, albeit for a trivial dispute

and your reward for the judgment was a punishment.

You were blinded, but you will see it all,

And your punishment will benefit you;

For if it is godlike to know the future, then you are a god.

De mare quod fies mulier: tibi fata minantur,

masque reverteris, sed sine luce, senex.

Tiresia, et iudex superum, de lite iocosa:

Tristia de dulcia praemia lite feres.

Caecus eris, sed cuncta videbis; poenia iuvabit:

si ventura Dei est noscere, Divus eris.

 

 Faustus Sabaeus [16th century, modern Italy] was a librarian of the Vatican library who composed numerous poems on mythology-based themes.

  

From Man to Woman and Back Again: Tiresias, Lactantius Placidus, Narr. 3.5

Name: Lactantius Placidus Date:  5th or 6th century CE Region:    Unknown Citation:  Plots of Ovid’s Myths, Book 3, Story 5

Tiresias had experienced the nature of being a man and a woman. For at some point in his life he had transformed into a woman when he had struck a pair of mating serpents with a stick. He changed back into a man the following spring the same way.

[Tiresias] qui utramque naturam maris ac feminae fuerat expertus. nam quodam tempore cum serpentes concubitu haerentes baculo percussisset, in mulierem conversus fuerat ac rursus proximo vere eadem usus ratione ac tactu in virum cesserat. 

Lactantius Placidus [5^th or 6^th century CE] is the name of the author attributed to a prose summary of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but little is known about the author or his time period.

The Many Lives and the Many Genders of Pythagoras: Lucian, Gallus 19-20

Name: Lucian Date: 125 – 180 CE Region: [modern Turkey] Citation:  The Rooster 19-20

 In his satire on Pythagorean philosophy, the author Lucian explores how Pythagoras' soul (now living as a rooster) has experienced a vast spectrum of existence--living as man and woman, Greek and Persian, person and animal, etc. It is important to note that despite the interviewer Mikyllos' cynical and mocking tone, he still follows proper etiquette:  using a person's appropriate pronouns, as well as being sure to not use the Rooster's dead name. 

M: Once you changed out of Pythagoras, what form did you take next?

Rooster: I was Aspasia, the Courtesan from Miletus.

M: Lol wut? You, Pythagoras, were a woman in your previous lives? Like, at one time, you, a noble rooster, were an egg-laying chicken? And you were Aspasia, who dated Pericles, and got pregnant by him? And you spun wool and then wove it into things? And then you put on makeup to go on dates?

Rooster: Of course I did. But I’m not the only one who did so; there’s also Tiresias before me, and Elatus’ kid* Caeneus. Don’t give me a hard time for it, if you’re cool with them.

M: So, like, which life did you like better? When you were a man, or when you were married to Pericles?

Rooster: Watch out what kind of question you’re asking me—that’s the question that got Tiresias in trouble**.

M: Well, if you don’t say it, Euripides explained it in one of his tragedies. He said that he would prefer to go into battle three times than to give birth once.

Rooster: May I remind you, o Mikyllos, that one day you will be a woman who gives birth; it’ll happen often enough as time goes on.

M: Watch your neck, bird! Do you think that everyone comes from Miletus or Samos?   So, like, they often say that Pythagoras looked good, and Aspasia was good looking in the eyes of her tyrant lover. After Aspasia, were you a man or a woman next?

Rooster: I was the Cynic philosopher Crates.

M: OMG, what a difference! From a hot courtesan to a philosopher***!

Rooster: Then I was a king, then a beggar, then a Persian Satrap, then a horse, then a bird, then a frog, then a bunch of other things, too many to remember, but most recently, a rooster. I like being a rooster the most. I’ve been all these things, and now that I live with you, I think it’s laughable that you admire the rich and worry about poverty—you have no idea what you’re talking about. If you only knew the struggle the wealthy had, you wouldn’t think you’d instantly be happy if you were rich.

M: So, Pythagoras—or what do you wish to be called? So I won’t get mixed up calling you one thing after another.

Rooster: It doesn’t matter. Whether you call me Euphorbus or Pythagoras, or Aspasia, or Crates, I am all of them.  But it might be easier if you just call me “Rooster,” but don’t think that this “paltry poultry” doesn’t contain many souls.

 

 

* Lucian uses the gender neutral term παῖς [“kid / child,” instead of “son” or “daughter”], respecting Caeneus’ gender change by deliberately not using a gendered word.

 

** According to myth, Tiresias was blinded when Zeus and Hera asked him to decide whether men or women enjoyed physical romance more

 

*** Cynic rejected society’s obsession with appearance and beauty, and dressed plainly

19] πατῶν ἀπολιμπάνοις. ἀποδυσάμενος δὲ τὸν Πυθαγόραν τίνα μετημφιέσω μετ᾽ αὐτόν;

Ἀλεκτρυών

Ἀσπασίαν τὴν ἐκ Μιλήτου ἑταίραν

 

Μίκυλλος

φεῦ τοῦ λόγου, καὶ γυνὴ γὰρ σὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁ Πυθαγόρας ἐγένετο, καὶ ἦν ποτε χρόνος ὅτε καὶ σὺ ᾠοτόκεις, ὦ ἀλεκτρυόνων γενναιότατε, καὶ συνῆσθα Περικλεῖ Ἀσπασία οὖσα καὶ ἐκύεις ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔρια ἔξαινες καὶ κρόκην κατῆγες καὶ ἐγυναικίζου ἐς τὸ ἑταιρικόν;

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

πάντα ταῦτα ἐποίουν οὐ μόνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ Τειρεσίας πρὸ ἐμοῦ καὶ ὁ Ἐλάτου παῖς ὁ Καινεύς, ὥστε ὁπόσα ἂν ἀποσκώψῃς εἰς ἐμὲ, καὶ εἰς ἐκείνους ἀποσκώψας ἔσῃ.

 

Μίκυλλος

τί οὖν; πότερος ἡδίων ὁ βίος σοι ἦν, ὅτε ἀνὴρ ἦσθα ἢ ὅτε σε ὁ Περικλῆς ὤπυιεν;

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

ὁρᾷς οἷον τοῦτο ἠρώτησας, οὐδὲ τῷ Τειρεσίᾳ συνενεγκοῦσαν τὴν ἀπόκρισιν;

 

Μίκυλλος

ἀλλὰ κἂν σὺ μὴ εἴπῃς, ἱκανῶς ὁ Εὐριπίδης διέκρινε τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰπὼν ὡς τρὶς ἂν ἐθέλοι παρ᾽ ἀσπίδα στῆναι ἢ ἅπαξ τεκεῖν.

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

καὶ μὴν ἀναμνήσω σε, ὦ Μίκυλλε, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ὠδίνουσαν ἔσῃ γὰρ γυνὴ καὶ σὺ ἐν πολλῇ τῇ περιόδῳ πολλάκις.

 

Μίκυλλος

οὐκ ἀπάγξῃ, ὦ ἀλεκτρυών, ἅπαντας οἰόμενος Μιλησίους ἢ Σαμίους εἶναι; σὲ γοῦν φασι καὶ Πυθαγόραν ὄντα τὴν ὥραν λαμπρὸν πολλάκις 20] Ἀσπασίαν γενέσθαι τῷ τυράννῳ. — τίς δὲ δὴ μετὰ τὴν Ἀσπασίαν ἀνὴρ ἢ γυνὴ αὖθις ἀνεφάνης;

Ἀλεκτρυών

ὁ κυνικὸς Κράτης.

 

Μίκυλλος

' Ὢ Διοσκόρω τῆς ἀνομοιότητος, ἐξ ἑταίρας φιλόσοφος.

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

εἶτα βασιλεύς, εἶτα πένης, καὶ μετ᾽ ὀλίγον σατράπης, εἶτα ἵππος καὶ κολοιὸς καὶ βάτραχος καὶ ἄλλα μυρία μακρὸν ἂν γένοιτο καταριθμήσασθαι ἕκαστα: τὰ τελευταῖα δὲ ἀλεκτρυὼν πολλάκις, ἥσθην γὰρ τῷ τοιούτῳ βίῳ. καὶ παρὰ πολλοῖς [p. 214] ἄλλοις δουλεύσας καὶ πένησι ^ καὶ πλουσίοις, τὰ τελευταῖα καὶ σοὶ νῦν σύνειμι καταγελῶν ὁσημέραι ποτνιωμένου καὶ οἰμώζοντος ἐπὶ τῇ πενίᾳ καὶ τοὺς πλουσίους θαυμάζοντος ὑπ᾽ ἀγνοίας τῶν ἐκείνοις προσόντων κακῶν. εἰ γοῦν ᾔδεις τὰς φροντίδας ἃς ἔχουσιν, ἐγέλας ἂν ἐπὶ σαυτῷ πρῶτον οἰηθέντι ὑπερευδαίμονα εἶναι τὸν πλοῦτον.

 

Μίκυλλος

οὐκοῦν, ὦ Πυθαγόρα — καίτοι τί μάλιστα χαίρεις καλούμενος, ὡς μὴ ἐπιταράττοιμι τὸν λόγον ἄλλοτε ἄλλον καλῶν;

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

διοίσει μὲν οὐδὲν ἤν τε Εὔφορβον ἢ ^ Πυθαγόραν, ἤν τε Ἀσπασίαν καλῇς ἢ Κράτητα: πάντα γὰρ ἐγὼ ταῦτά εἰμι. πλὴν τὸ νῦν ὁρώμενον τοῦτο ἀλεκτρυόνα ὀνομάζων ἄμεινον ἂν ποιοῖς, ὡς μὴ ἀτιμάζοις εὐτελὲς εἶναι δοκοῦν τὸ ὄρνεον, καὶ ταῦτα τοσαύτας ἐν αὑτῷ ψυχὰς ἔχον.

MICYLLUS: Verum ubi Pythagoram exueras, quem post eum induisti?

GALLUS: Aspasiam Miletensem illam meretricem.

MICYLLUS: Papae! Quid ego audio? Siquidem inter alia mulier quoque fuit Pythagoras. Itane fuit aliquando tempus, quo tu Galle generosissime ova pariebas, cumque Pericle rem habebas, iam Aspasia videlicet, atque ex illo gravida facta es? Praeterea lanam tondebas, tramamque ducebas? Postremo meretricum in morem gestiebas, vultumque componebas?

GALLUS: Ista quidem omnia feci, tametsi non ego solus: verum & ante me tum Tiresias, tum Elati proles Caeneus. Proinde quicquid in me convitii dixeris, tantumdem et in illos dixeris.

MICYLLUS: Age igitur, utra tibi vita erat suavior, quum vir esses, an quum Pericles tecum haberet consuetudinem?

GALLUS: Vides cuiusmodi isthuc est quod percontaris? nempe cui ne Tiresiae quidem expedierit respondere.

MICYLLUS: Atqui si minus fateare tu, tamen isthuc Euripides fatis explicuit, quum ait se malle ter sub clipeo consistere, quam parere semel.

GALLUS: Immo praemoneo te paulo post puerperam fore: siquidem & tu mulier es olim futurus, idque; saepius, longo nimirum saeculorum orbe atque recursu.

MICYLLUS: Non tu pendebis O Galle, qui quidem omneis mortales Milesios aut Samios esse ducas? Nam aiunt te etiam tum quum Pythagoras esses, venusta forma decorum, saepius Aspasiam fuisse tyrano. Verum age, secundum Aspasiam in quem virum aut mulierem denuo renatus es?

GALLUS: In Cratetem Cynicum.

MICYLLUS: O Castor, O Pollux, quam dissimile! ex scorto philosophus?

GALLUS: Deinde rex: deinde pauper: paulo post satrapes: dehinc equus, graculus, rana, aliaque innumerabilia, perlongum enim fuerit singula recensere. Postremo gallus, atque id saepius, nam hoc vitae genere sum delectatus. Interea & aliis diversis mortalibus servivi, regibus, pauperibus, divitibus; postremo nun tecum vivo, rideoque quotidie, quum video te pauperitatis taedio complorantem, eiulantemque, ac divitum admirantem fortunas, propterea quod ignores quantum illis adsit malorum. Alioqui si curas noris quibus illi distringuntur teipsum profecto riseris, qui antea credideris, eum qui sit opulentus, statim felicissimum esse omnium.

MICYLLUS: Ergo Pythagora, aut quod maxime gaudeas appellari, ne confundam orationem, si te nunc hoc, nunc illo nomine compellem.

GALLUS: Nihil intererit, sive Euphorbum, sive Pythagoram, sive vocaris Aspasia, sive Craterem, quandoquidem ista omnium sum unus: nisi quod rectius feceris, si id quod impraesentiarum esse video. Gallum me voces, ne avem hanc parui ducere contenereque videare, praesertim quum tam multas contineat animas.

Translated into Latin by Erasmus of Rotterdam

 Lucian [Lucianus Samosatensis; 125 – 180 CE, modern Turkey] was a Roman satirist from Samosata [modern Turkey] who wrote in ancient Greek. His works are a mixture of sarcasm, wit, and biting social criticism. He is without a doubt one of the most popular authors of the later Roman empire.

A Miraculous Bird and Her Miraculous Zookeeper, Ausonius Epig. 45

A Miraculous Bird and Her Miraculous Zookeeper

Name:  Ausonius Date:  4th century CE Region:  Aquitania, Gaul [modern France] Citation: Epigram 76

It is important to note that the Romans did not necessarily differentiate between trans and intersex people; the term androgynus was used as an umbrella term.

 

At Valbone (an unusual occurrence

That would scarcely be believed from poets,

But which is alleged by a historian)

A male bird turned into a female bird;

A peacock became a peahen right before our eyes!

Everyone marveled at the omen,

But a girl, softer than a lamb, announced with her maiden’s voice:

“You goofballs, why are so amazed by this marvel?

 Haven’t you read the poems of Ovid[1]?

Saturn’s offspring Consus[2] changed Caeneus, 

And Tiresias was gender-fluid.

The Salmacis spring saw the intersex Hermaphroditus;

Pliny saw an intersex person get married,

And, more recently, in Beneventum,

One young man suddenly became a young woman!

But nevermind these old stories,

I myself am a woman, though born a boy.”

---

[1] A reference to The Metamorphoses.

[2] Poseidon/Neptune, not Consus, is usually associated with the myth of Caeneus.

Latin Text: 

Vallebanae (nova res et vix credenda poetis,)

sed quae de vera promitur historia)

femineam in speciem convertit masculus ales

pavaque de pavo constitit ante oculos.

Cuncti admirantur monstrum, sed mollior agna...

[Talia virginea voce puella refert:]

“Quid stolidi ad speciem notae novitatis hebetis?

An vos Nasonis carmina non legitis?

Caenida convertit proles Saturnia Consus

ambignoque fuit corpore Tiresias.

Vidit semivirum fons Salmacis Hermaphroditum:

vidit nubentem Plinius Androgynum

nec satis antiquum, quod Campana in Benevento

unus epheborum virgo repente fuit.

Nolo tamen veteris documenta arcesse famae.

Ecce ego sum factus femina de puero.”  

Ausonius [Decimus Magnus Ausonius; 310 – 395 CE, modern France] was a Roman poet from Aquitania, Gaul who lived during the 4th century CE. He is best known for his epic poem Mosella, which describes the Moselle River, and his Epistles, a series of literary poems between himself and the Christian poet Paulinus.

What NOT To Ask A Trans Person: Menippus and Tiresias, Lucian, dialogi mortuorum 28

What NOT To Ask A Trans Person: An Interview with Tiresias

Name: Lucian Date: 125 – 180 CE Region: [modern Turkey] Citation:  Dialogues of the Dead 28.1.-2

Menippus and Tiresias meet in the Underworld:

MENIPPUS: Tiresias, are you still blind? I can’t tell anymore. [As skeletons,] none of us have eyes, only empty eye sockets. Here, you can’t tell whether this guy’s Phineas, or that guy’s Lynceus. I remember hearing from the epic poets that you were the only prophet who was both a man and a woman. By the gods, please tell me which lifestyle was better, being a man or being a woman?

TIRESIAS: Being a woman was less stressful by far. Women control men, but they don’t have to go to war, and they don’t have to defend their country, and they don’t have to take part in government or participate in court.

MENIPPUS: But didn’t you hear about Euripides’ Medea, where she complains about the troubles of being a woman, and how hard it was to give birth? OOOH! But speaking of Medea—when you were a woman, were you barren?

TIRESIAS: WHAT ARE YOU ASKING, MENIPPUS?

MENIPPUS: Oh, it’s not a hard question, Tiresias, so answer me. It’s easy.

TIRESIAS: I didn’t give birth, but I wasn’t barren.

MENIPPUS: Cool, cool. I just wanted to know if you had lady parts...

TIRESIAS: I don’t understand how that’s any of your business.

Μένιππος καὶ Τειρεσίας. Μένιππος: ὦ Τειρεσία, εἰ μὲν καὶ τυφλὸς εἶ, οὐκέτι διαγνῶναι ῥᾴδιον: ἅπασι γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁμοίως τὰ ὄμματα κενά, μόνον δὲ αἱ χῶραι αὐτῶν: τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα οὐκέτ᾽ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοις, τίς ὁ Φινεὺς ἦν ἢ τίς ὁ Λυγκεύς. ὅτι μέντοι μάντις ἦσθα καὶ ὅτι ἀμφότερα ἐγένου μόνος καὶ ἀνὴρ καὶ γυνή, τῶν ποιητῶν ἀκούσας οἶδα. πρὸς τῶν θεῶν τοιγαροῦν εἰπέ μοι, ὁποτέρου ἐπειράθης ἡδίονος τῶν βίων, ὁπότε ἀνὴρ ἦσθα, ἢ ὁ γυναικεῖος ἀμείνων ἦν; Τειρεσίας: παρὰ πολύ, ὦ Μένιππε, ὁ γυναικεῖος: ἀπραγμονέστερος γὰρ. καὶ δεσπόζουσι τῶν ἀνδρῶν αι γυναῖκες, καὶ οὔτε πολεμεῖν ἀνάγκη αὐταῖς οὔτε παρ᾽ ἔπαλξιν ἑστάναι οὔτ᾽ ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ διαφέρεσθαι οὔτ᾽ ἐν δικαστηρίοις ἐξετάζεσθαι.

MENIPPUS: Tiresia, caecusne sis, non amplius dignoscere facile: cunctis enim nobis perinde oculi sunt vacui: solum restant oculorum cava loca. Ceterum dicere nequeas, uter Phineus sit, an Lynceus. Iam vatem fuisse, & utrumque te solum, marem ac feminam, ex poetis audivisse memini. Per Deos itaque te obtestor, expone mihi, utrum expertus fueris suavius vitae genus, cum mas fores, an femina? TIRESIAS: Potior erat magno intervallo, Menippe, vita feminini sexus, quippe magis negotiorum expers: tum dominantur in viros mulieres, neque eas bello vacare necesse est, neque ad murorum pinnas stantes excubare, neque in contionibus altercari, neque in iudiciis versari.

Μ: οὐ γὰρ ἀκήκοας, ὦ Τειρεσία, τῆς Εὐριπίδου Μηδείας, οἷα εἶπεν οἰκτείρουσα τὸ γυναικεῖον, ὡς ἀθλίας οὔσας καὶ ἀφόρητόν τινα τὸν ἐκ τῶν ὠδίνων πόνον ὑφισταμένας; ἀτὰρ εἰπέ μοι, — ὑπέμνησε γάρ με τὰ τῆς Μηδείας ἰαμβεῖα — καὶ ἔτεκές ποτε, ὁπότε γυνὴ ἦσθα, ἢ στεῖρα καὶ ἄγονος διετέλεσας ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ βίῳ; Τ: τί τοῦτο, Μένιππε, ἐρωτᾷς; Μ: οὐδὲν χαλεπόν, ὦ Τειρεσία: πλὴν ἀπόκρίναι, εἴ σοι ῥᾴδιον. Τ: οὐ στεῖρα μὲν ἤμην, οὐκ ἔτεκον δ᾽ ὅλως. Μ: ἱκανὸν τοῦτο: εἰ γὰρ καὶ μήτραν εἶχες, ἐβουλόμην εἰδέναι...[1] Τ: οὐχ ὁρῶ τί σοι βούλεται τὸ ἐρώτημα...

M: Non tu audivisti, Tiresia, Euripidae Medeam, qualia dixerit deplorans muliebrem secus, tanquam miseras, atque intolerandum ex puerperiis dolorem sustinentes. Verum dic mihi (nam admonuerunt me isti Medeae iambi) peperistine aliquando, cum mulier eras, an sterilis & partus expers digisti in illo vitae statu? T: Quid illud, Menippe, rogitas? M: Nihil explicatu difficile, Tiresia: quin responde, si tibi promptum. T: Haud sterilis eram, neque tamen peperi. M: Satis est: nimirum an matricem habuisses, volebam scire... T: Non video, quid tibi velit quaesitum illud:  Translated into Latin by Tiberius Hemsterhuis and  Johan Frederik Reitz

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[1] In the text, Menippus continues with even more graphic questions, which Tiresias continues to ignore

Lucian [Lucianus Samosatensis; 125 – 180 CE, modern Turkey] was a Roman satirist from Samosata [modern Turkey] who wrote in ancient Greek. His works are a mixture of sarcasm, wit, and biting social criticism. He is without a doubt one of the most popular authors of the later Roman empire.

Tiresias and Their Daughter: Pausanias, Desc. Graec. 9.33.1-2

Mount Tilphussius and the Tilphussan spring are no more than fifty stadia from Haliartus. It is said that after they had captured Thebes, the Argives and the children of Polynices were transporting the prophet Tiresias and other spoils of war to Delphi, to dedicate them to Apollo.  Being thirsty, Tiresias drank the water from this spring and died. Therefore his tomb is near this spring.

They say that Manto, Tiresias’ daughter, was dedicated to Apollo by the Argives, and under the god’s command, she was sent by ship to Colophon in Ionia, where she was married to the Cretan Rhacius.

The rest of the myth of Tiresias—how long he lived, that he changed from woman to man, and that in the Odyssey, Homer states that he alone retained wisdom in the Underworld—everybody already knows about.

Mons Tilphussius & Tilphussa item fons, qui dicitur, ab Haliarto stadia abest quinquaginta, ut maxime. Traditum est Graecorum monumentis, Argivos, quum Polynicis filios secuti Thebas cepissent, dum ad Delphicum Apollinem cum reliqua praeda vatem etiam Tiresiam pertraherent, sitientem illum in via hausta de Tilphussa fonte aqua, animam statim egisse. Est eius sepulchrum ad ipsum fontem. Vatis filiam Manto ab Argivis Apollini aiunt sacratam: sed transmisisse eam classe (iubente deo) Colophonem in Ioniam, ibique Rhacio Cretensi nuptam. Quae de Tiresia dicuntur alia, de annorum scilicet quem vixisse scripserunt numero, & quod vir evaserit ex femina, quodque in Odyssea Homerus eum unum sapientem esse apud inferos dixerit, omnia haec omnes iam toties audita norunt.

τὸ δὲ ὄρος τὸ Τιλφούσιον καὶ ἡ Τιλφοῦσα καλουμένη πηγὴ σταδίους μάλιστα Ἁλιάρτου πεντήκοντα ἀπέχουσι. λέγεται δὲ ὑπὸ Ἑλλήνων Ἀργείους μετὰ τῶν Πολυνείκους παίδων ἑλόντας Θήβας ἐς Δελφοὺς τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἄλλα τῶν λαφύρων καὶ Τειρεσίαν ἄγειν, καὶ—εἴχετο γὰρ δίψῃ—καθ᾽ ὁδόν φασιν αὐτὸν πιόντα ἀπὸ τῆς Τιλφούσης ἀφεῖναι τὴν ψυχήν: καὶ ἔστι τάφος αὐτῷ πρὸς τῇ πηγῇ. [2] τὴν δὲ θυγατέρα τοῦ Τειρεσίου δοθῆναι μέν φασι τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀργείων, προστάξαντος δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ ναυσὶν ἐς τὴν νῦν Ἰωνίαν καὶ Ἰωνίας ἐς τὴν Κολοφωνίαν περαιωθῆναι. καὶ ἡ μὲν αὐτόθι συνῴκησεν ἡ Μαντὼ Ῥακίῳ Κρητί: τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ἐς Τειρεσίαν, ἐτῶν τε ἀριθμὸν ὧν γεγράφασιν αὐτὸν βιῶναι καὶ ὡς ἐκ γυναικὸς ἐς ἄνδρα ἠλλάγη καὶ ὅτι Ὅμηρος ἐποίησεν ἐν Ὀδυσσείᾳ συνετὸν εἶναι γνώμην Τειρεσίαν τῶν ἐν Ἅιδου μόνον, ταῦτα μὲν καὶ οἱ πάντες ἴσασιν ἀκοῇ. 

--Pausanias, Descriptio Graeciae IX.xxxiii.1-2; translated into Latin by Romulus Amaseus (1696)

  Pausanias was a Greek writer who lived during the era of the “Five Good Emperors.” His work, the Description of Greece, is an important source for geographical, historical, archaeological, and cultural information about ancient Greece. 

The Story of Tiresias: Phlegon of Tralles, De Mirab. 4

Hesiod, Dicaearchus, Clitarchus, Callimachus, and many others have this to say about Tiresias:

When Tiresias, the son of Eumaris, was a man, he saw serpents mating on Mt. Cyllene in Arcadia and wounded one of them. From that point on,  his sex was changed and he was turned into a woman--even slept with a man!

The Oracle of Apollo advised Tiresias that the next time they caught sight of serpents mating, they should wound the other one, and then they would return to their original gender. Finding an opportunity to do so, they obeyed the god's words and returned to their original state.

Iam Hesiodus, Dicaearchus, Clitarchus, Callimachus, aliique nonnulli, de Tiresia haec narrant. Tiresiam, Eumaris, filium, in Arcadia cum esset mas in monte Cyllene, serpentum, quos coire videbat, alterum vulnerasse: illicoque, mutato sexu, in feminam mutatum esse, ac cum viro concubuisse. Monitum autem oraculo Apollinis, ut, cum coeuntes serpentes iterum deprehendisset, alterum itidem sauciaret, ita enim in pristinum sexum rediturum, observata opportunitate, consilio dei fuisse obsecutum, itaque recuperasse pristinam naturam.

 

Iστερεί δε και Ησιοδος και Δικαίαρχος και Κλείταρχος και Καλλίμαχος  και άλλοι τινές περι Τειρεσίου τάδε. Τειρεσίαν τον Fυμάρους και εν Αρκαδία άνδρα οντα, εν τω ορει τω εν Κυλλήνη όφεις ιδόντα έχεύοντας τρωσαι τον έτερον και παραχρήμα μεταβαλείν την ιδέαν Γενέσθαι γαρ εξ ανδρος γυναίκα και μιχθήναι ανδρί. Του δε Απόλλωνος αυτώ χρήσαντος, ως εαν τηρήσας έχεύοντας ομοίως τρώση τον ένα έσται οίος ήν παραφυλάξαντα τον Τειρέσιαν ποιήσαι τα υπό του θεού ρηθέντα και ούτως κομίσασθαι την αρχαίαν φύσιν.

--Phlegon of Tralles, De Mirabilibus IV., Translated into Latin by Wilhelm Xylander

According to the Suda [φ527], Phlegon of Tralles was a freedman of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. He wrote numerous works in Greek that are now lost, including the Olympiads and Roman festivals. His work, On Marvels, is a collection of extraordinary occurrences throughout history.